Fire at home on Marshall Road in Fitchburg kills at least 3 pets

FITCHBURG -- A fire broke out in a Marshall Road home late Thursday afternoon, claiming the lives of at least three family pets.

Fitchburg firefighters responded to 125 Marshall Road at about 5 p.m., and they found the back of the building fully engulfed in flames.

Douglas Graves, a next-door neighbor, said his mother-in-law alerted him to the smoke, and shortly thereafter, the woman who lives at the home, Carolyn Cormier, and her grandchildren, could be heard "crying and screaming" for the Fitchburg firefighters to save the pets.

"You can replace the items in the house, but not the pets," said Cormier's daughter Nicole Cormier, standing outside her childhood home.

Josh Cote, who lives across the street at 120 Marshall Road, reported the fire after he heard glass break. He said he thought it was neighborhood children playing, but when he stepped outside, glass began "smashing" out of the side of the house.

"All of a sudden flames blew out the side of the house," he said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 30 minutes but were unable to save the two dogs and one of the cats in the house.

A firefighter used oxygen to try to revive the cat after it was pulled from the home, but was unsuccessful.

Firefighters were trying to locate a second cat.

Nicole Cormier said her family is "devastated." She said her mother, her sister and her sister's two children live at the home.

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Fitchburg Fire Prevention Lt. Phil Jordan, who was on scene, said he determined no one was home when the fire started. Jordan said he could not assess the damage of the home yet because he had not completed his investigation.

The fire appeared to have started on the back porch of the residence, he added.

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Developing.

EMS crews unsuccessfully work to save the life of a pet cat during a fire at a home on Marshall Road late Thursday afternoon. Fitchburg firefighters responded to 125 Marshall Road at about 5 p.m., and they found the back of the building fully engulfed in flames. Two dogs and one cat perished in the fire, and one cat has yet to be found. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / Ashley Green

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